Of Sunny Smiles And Decrepit Quidditch Stars
by RoseScor90
Summary: Everybody had secrets; even sunny, I have no care in the world Lily Potter. But this particular secret had been ignoring her for a bit too long. When she meets him by chance in a party, they are drawn to each other, again. Will there be sparks? Do R&R!


Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Written for the next gen competition, the last of the twelve one-shots about all the next generation Potters and Weasleys! This one is about Lily Potter and the song that inspired this fic was _Does your mother know_.

Hope you enjoy!

She was supposed to be the sunny one, the _perpetually happy and jumping pixie_, as her brother had once called her. People expected her to smile all the time, console anybody in misery and cheer gloomy people up. In short, people expected her to be their unpaid Psychiatrist. It made Lily sick.

But of course she would never show any of that, would she? It would be all over the tabloids if she, the darling daughter of the Boy Who Lived, lost her sunny smile image. The speculations would be horrendous, or humorous, depending on the way you saw it. _Is Lily Potter into drugs? Is the daughter of the Chosen One going rotten? Where has that enthusiasm gone? Is the family falling apart? Is Harry Potter turning abusive?_

Oh she could imagine the unnecessary attention it would cause. So she put it all in, grinning and soothing things over like she always did. Maybe it was habitual; she had had to referee one too many fighting matches between her brothers. Only _she_ seemed to succeed in making them see sense, when even her mother couldn't. Lily considered putting it in her list of life time achievements.

"Hi sunshine." Lily sighed as she placed the mug of butterbeer she had been drinking on the table lightly, when in her mind, she was thumping it on the table, making the liquid slosh all over, staining the shirt of the annoying, irritating person before her.

"Thomas." she greeted happily, trying oh so hard not to just tell him off.

"So, I was wondering, what are you upto now-a-days?" Lily almost smirked, almost. But then she remembered she didn't smirk; Lily Potter smiled, grinned; never smirked.

"Upto my elbows in dragon dung." She replied with a smile, making Thomas flinch. Inside, she did a victory dance. Just because she was expected to be giddily happy all the time didn't mean she took hitting on her equanimously.

"Still at the Dragon Reserve then? You know, you could just as easily find a place at St Mungo's." Lily rolled her eyes inwardly. Of course, Thomas was your everyday chauvinistic guy who thought girls shouldn't take up perilous tasks like tending to hurt dragons. He was exactly the type of person she loathed with all her being.

"Of course I could, but where's the fun in that?"

"There are so many other ways to have fun, Lils." Lily flinched at the use of her nickname. She only ever allowed a few people to call that and insinuating, coming-on-too-strong Thomas was not one.

"I don't think we are acquainted enough for me to let you call me that. Let's stick with Lily, alright?"

"Sure, Lily. I was wondering, would you like to dance with me?" It was more a statement than a question and Lily was just thinking of how she could avoid him without making herself sound rude when a low, suave voice interrupted, making her blush. She hadn't seen him come this way. She was just surprised; the quickening of her heart had nothing to do with him, she assured herself.

"I'm afraid she's already taken, Thomas. I remember Lily promising me a few dances tonight." In fact, Lily had promised Tristan Wood nothing, but better her…brother's friend than Thomas. Better _anyone_ than Thomas.

Tristan's eyes glinted amusedly as he watched the shock of who was talking to him register on Thomas' face. Tristan Wood, Star Keeper of Puddlemere United; the very guy who was voted as the most wanted for a whole year in the Witch Weekly; he had no chance.

"Oh, that's alright then." Thomas walked away sulking, and Lily let out a relieved sigh that he was gone. But that left her anxious because now, she was alone in the company of the guy she had had an unwavering crush on for so long. But Lily knew she was just another girl in a very long line of girls who were stuck on him.

"Are you going to sit there for the entire evening, Lily?" Tristan's mocking voice brought her out of her reverie.

"Thanks for saving me like that." She looked into those twinkling grey eyes, which reminded of the clouds. They were filled to the brim with emotions; stormy. Too many for her to place.

"I just saw the save me sign on your head and figured why not." He extended a hand to her, but she looked quizzically at him. In the past years, Tristan had never paid her much mind, just like he hadn't paid any attention to the rest of the female population pining after him; not that she was pining after him, she considered herself as a closet admirer of Tristan Wood.

"I asked you to dance with me, remember?" Looking at her suspicious expression, he proceeded to explain, "I should atleast try to keep a part of my lie, right?" The proposition was quite tiresome to him; for reasons very different from what one would assume.

Ever since she had dumped a bucket full of sand on his head thinking that he was one of her cousins, Tristan had taken it upon himself to get to know Lily Potter. And what he had come to know, had made him like her.

But of course, that knowledge wasn't overridden by the fact as it was: She was his best mate's sister and a Potter. While the second wouldn't have posed much of a problem, the first was a mountainous wall, separating them. He had tried his best to ignore her for the better part of his school life. It had become easier once he graduated, but by that time, he had lost interest in the rest of the girls. That was why, even with rumors of him swinging the other way floating around, he was yet to be spotted with a date.

The fact had been a cause for much amusement among his friends; James was the only one who had got it right.

"So, who is this girl you've been infatuated with, Tris?" The question had thrown his balance and he had barely managed not to answer with 'your sister.'

"I'm just waiting, James. For the right one; _the one_, you know. Not everyone is as lucky as you are." The talk had turned to James' fiancée Alice, but Tristan could see that his friend saw that he was stalling.

Tristan was under constant watch from then on; James could be very observant when he wanted to and Tristan began purposefully ignoring Lily so that his secret wouldn't be out of the bag. Lily had been surprised at first, but the hurt had matured into reluctant acceptance now; it wasn't like she didn't know she wasn't worth it anyway.

Shrugging, Lily stood up from her place at the corner of the room and skipped to the dance floor, trying to appear casual. She thanked heavens that the room was poorly lit so he couldn't see her perpetual blush.

"How do you walk like that without breaking your neck?" Tristan asked incredulously as he took her hand and they started dancing. The song was neither slow nor fast, allowing for them to talk as they danced.

"How do you fly without falling off your broom?"

"Fair enough, I guess. So, how have you been for the past years? It's been what, three years since you graduated?"

"Seven, and I've been having a terrific time at Romania, thanks." Her reply was snarkier than normal; he didn't even remember which year she was in?

"At the Dragon Reserve, right? Sounds so thrilling, Lily. Away from the limelight and into a heck of an adventure; must be heaven."

"It is." Lily replied, wondering how he knew exactly what she felt, what with the way he had been steadily overlooking her.

"You came all the way from there for your brother's party?"

"Yeah, yeah I did. I thought Al wouldn't come and someone had to represent the family, so I came," She looked to her two brothers who were now arguing about something. Lily watched as their faced turned furious, or in Albus' case, stone cold.

"Excuse me." She quickened her pace across the dance floor to reach the other end of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tristan follow her.

"James, Albus, stop it. We're in the middle of the party. We don't want to put up a show, do we?" Both the brothers turned to her and shouted as one.

"Shut up, Lils." Instead of being offended, a calm smile graced her face. Her tone was complacent as she said, "As much as I would like to do just that, as much as I'd like to be at the other end of the world, you're my siblings and I don't want the two of you to be estranged, which is what will happen if the you continue now. Please stop fighting?" As a final blow, she used her best puppy dog pout; the one that she knew achieved almost everything.

"Alright, Lily-flower, for you." James smiled lightly as he hugged her, lifting her off her feet as she did so. Lilly giggled as he spun her around, mindless of who was watching. This was what she loved about her brothers; this easy affection, this uncomplicated love.

"And you?" She tapped her foot as she turned to her childhood play-toy otherwise named as Albus. He still looked like a toy, easily manipulated. He was sporting his usual smirk as he said, "As if I could ever say no to my favorite little sister."

"That's good. Play nice, children." She reprimanded one last time before she walked away back to her corner of the room.

"Why are you so insistent on hiding in the dark?" Lily whirled around at the voice; she had almost forgotten he had been dancing with her.

"Too much attention tends to make you crave loneliness." She replied matter-of-factly, taking her seat back. The glass of Butterbeer was gone, replaced with a fresh glass of what appeared to be Firewhiskey. Lily ignored it, turning to the party. She could see that the rest of her family were enjoying themselves. James' Becoming-Captain party was definitely a success.

"The party's great, isn't it?" Lily laughed out at his question, confusing him.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to make conversation with me." An amused smile lingered in her lips, as she contemplated the idea. No, she wasn't that much of a hallucinatory.

"I see no fault in such an assumption."

"Are you so stumped for company that you seek mine?"

"I still don't see what's wrong about that."

"If you hadn't known, people generally seek Lily Potter as a last resort. 'Don't have any choice for company? Lily will always be free' that kind of thing. Or the normal, 'I'm miserable cheer me up' kind. Which one are you?"

"The 'Lily Potter is miserable, cheer her up' kind." He grinned disarmingly at her, those grey orbs shining oh so much, she was losing herself in them.

"I'm not miserable." She retorted, trying to pull a fake cheerful expression.

"I wouldn't believe that mask in a million years."

"How do you know it's a mask? I might be jumping for joy for all you know!"

"Oh I know, well enough to see that you're going to take a snap at someone in just a few minutes."

"Oh I know!" She mocked his voice, making him laugh. The strain in her eyes did not relent, though.

"I've known you for so many years now, Lils. Of course, I know you." His voice was charming, almost soft; his eyes were looking imploringly at her. Lily had to turn her head away to not give in.

"Yeah, right. I forgot how you always seemed to walk away when I entered a room, how you agreed with James that I shouldn't be on the Quidditch team and of course, how could we forget that you were the only person who didn't dance with me at James' wedding? I totally see where you are coming from. And the most obvious fact, you didn't even know how many years it has been since I left Hogwarts."

"I was bluffing; of course I knew! I wasn't trying to avoid you, Lils. I was just…I had to be away from you. It's complicated."

"How so?"

"Well, if I hadn't taken such pains to stay away from you, it would have been almost too easy for me to join the long line of people who were waiting for Lily Potter to give them a second glance." Lily looked astonished; that was the very same thing _she_ had thought of _him_.

"That's silly, Tris. No-one was lining up for my attention, I'm not self serving enough to believe that for even a moment. You were James' friend, of course I'd take a more than normal interest in you!"

"And that would have complicated things even further. James would have had a conniption if he had had even an inkling that I was interested in you." Tristan remembered pretty well the glares and hexes that had discreetly found its way to Lily's various dates. _Hell_, he himself had cast some of them.

"What's so wrong about that? Well, Scorpius is Albus' friend and we're kind of close too. Al doesn't seem to mind, does he?"

"Well, yeah." Tristan sighed, looking away from her. Lily had a queer sensation that he was hiding something from her.

"There's something else, isn't there?" She asked slowly, placing a cautious hand on his. He didn't push it away, like she had seen him push away countless girls'. He turned his hand so that her hand was in his palm, closing his hand to hold hers in his secure grip. A slow smile spread across her face.

"_This_, is why I can't be in your presence for long, Lily. I lose concentration, my resolve weakens everytime you smile that fake smile at someone. I'm afraid I'll…want to see a genuine one on your face. To be the one you'd laugh with. But of course, I know that can't be. Of course I do."

"How do you know that?" She whispered, for once not bothering to punctuate her words with a smile; he saw through her anyway.

"Because…because you're Lily Potter, the girl everyone wants to be and I'm just James' sidekick."

"This isn't about James or my surname." Her heart was fluttering wildly; not in her wildest dreams had she imagined that he would have felt intimidated.

"Not entirely, no. But those two do play a major part."

"You say my name as if it's a blessing when you know that it's a curse, Tristan. You said you knew me. Don't you know how I yearn for someone to look behind my name, behind the facade? You do, don't you? Why then…and don't even start about James. I know you aren't that terrified of him," She added when he saw that he was going to interrupt her, "Tell me the real reason, Tris. No lame excuses, no hiding behind people, just the truth."

"I'm too old for you." The words slipped form him before he could stop them, but he felt better for saying it all the same. What he hadn't expected was for her to laugh at him.

"Too…old. Too old?" She exclaimed disbelievingly as the laughs subsided.

"I'm five years older than you, Lily. How could I…how could we…"

"Four, just four. Are you losing count of your own age now?" She smirked at him, throwing him off balance. He had never seen that look on her face; James' devil may care expression, as he had termed it.

"I'm not, but…but…" He was running out of excuses; both of them could see that. Lily sensed victory, sweet mushy victory.

"No buts. I'm in the mood for celebration and I want to dance with my boyfriend. Come on." She dragged him to the dance floor and he went willingly enough.

"Boyfriend? Who's that?"

"Well, the ignorant idiot standing before me who is apparently so decrepit that he doesn't even know when a girl is asking him out."

"I'm not an ignorant idiot. That's James."

"Just idiot then." She offered consolingly.

"Not an idiot either."

"So what are you?"

"Doomed." Lily looked puzzled before she followed his line of vision. James was approaching.

"Ah, well. Should have known he'd notice soon. Might as well give him something to steam about." Lily stood on her tip toes to kiss him, smiling as she imagined the ruckus this would cause.

Finally, she had some drama of her own.

A/n: I really can't believe that I did it! Yes! But this fiction, I'm not to sure about. I think I messed Lily up and Tristan Wood too.

What do you think? Please do tell me.


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